Category Archives: Business and Economy

By: Oscar Omer Almenario
FORMER Philippine Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, one of the prime movers of the EDSA 1 People Power Revolt in 1986, sees nothing wrong with President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to hold simple rites and activities honoring the event.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Catholic Mass commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bloodless revolt, held at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Grandstand in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City Friday, Enrile said a “fiesta” type of observation of the historic event is not needed, as all EDSA 1 participants placed their lives on the line to topple the dictatorship.

By: Oscar Omer Almenario
THE “most beautiful day in the Universe” has finally arrived in the Philippines on Monday morning with Miss France Iris Mittenaere crowned Miss Universe 2016.
Miss Haiti Raquel Pelissier placed second (first runner up), while Miss Colombia Andrea Tovar clinched the third spot (second runner up).
Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Wanda Corazon Teo, who was present at the competition, was quick to congratulate Mittenaere for winning the most prestigious tilt, claiming that her victory is also a triumph for the Philippines.
“On behalf of the Filipino people, I congratulate Miss France for bagging the Miss Universe crown from 85 other candidates from around the world. Her win is our success as the host nation,” the tourism chief said.
“We join the millions of people watching from more than 190 countries worldwide in celebration over Miss Mittenaere’s success. And we are very proud and grateful that the Philippines became an important part in her journey to the Miss Universe crown,” Teo added.

By: Oscar Omer Almenario
THE People’s Palace (Malacanang) on Sunday expressed resentment over the abduction and slay of Hanjin executive Jee Ick Joo inside the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame.
“We are outraged by the abduction and slay of a South Korean executive inside Camp Crame,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a text message to Palace reporters.
The Palace official assured that there will be no whitewash in the investigation of Jee’s killing reportedly involving rogue cops.

By: Omer Oscar Almenario
DESPITE the complexities in the ongoing peace negotiations between the Philippine government and communist rebels, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana expressed confidence a bilateral ceasefire will be signed during the talks in Rome, Italy next week.
The DND chief added some of his people and those from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff Gen. Eduardo Año met with Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Jesus Dureza at the OPAPP headquarters in Pasig City, on what inputs they want to be placed in the agreement.
“What they are going to accomplish in Rome is to discuss the terms of a bilateral ceasefire agreement. That’s why some of my people at DND went to OPAPP. Gen. Año met with Sec. Dureza at OPAPP because they asked us what inputs do we want to be place into this agreement,” Lorenzana said.

By OMER OSCAR ALMENARIO
THE Philippine population will continue to increase in 2017 and is projected to reach 105,758,850 by December 31, 2017 based on projections made by the Commission on Population (POPCOM) using data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Included in the projection are 27,293,422 women of reproductive age (aged 15-49). These women are usually the beneficiaries of Reproductive Health services under the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law.
Adolescent girls 10-19 years old will also increase to 10,080,824 next year. Based on the most recent data from the PSA (2014), it is expected that over 200,000 adolescent girls will give birth in 2017.
The figures for women of reproductive age and adolescent girls continue to be the highest numbers on record. This trend is expected to continue up to 2022 when the numbers of women of reproductive age are expected to peak at 29.1 million and adolescent girls at 11.3 million.

By OMER OSCAR ALMENARIO
A PHILIPPINE official confirmed on Wednesday that President Rodrigo Duterte and National Democratic Front (NDF) chief political consultant Jose Maria “Joma” Sison talked over the phone at dawn last Tuesday.
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said President Duterte and Sison agreed to pursue the peace process.
“It did go on. It went through at about 3 a.m. dawn of that particular day. From the sources, it was a warm conversation between old friends,” Abella said.

THE government’s anti-drug campaign in Bicol got another boost after local fishermen turned over to local police authorities 18 bricks of cocaine that they found floating 100 meters off the shores of Tiwi town in Albay on Sunday night, said the top official of the Bicol police Monday morning.
Chief Supt. Melvin Buenafe, director of the Regional Police Office (PRO5), in an interview, said each of the cocaine bricks found in waters off Barangay Sogod, Tiwi weighed 1 kilogram each and that the 18 kilos of cocaine bricks could cost up to PHP100 million.
Senior Insp. Jan King Calipay, chief of police of Tiwi Municipal Police Office (MPO), said two fishermen while on board a motorized banca found floating offshore a net full of “brick-like items wrapped with brown packaging tape.”
He said the two fishermen, Manuel Comota and Razel Bragais, informed Teresita Cericos, barangay captain of Sogod, about the package and immediately informed the MPO about it.
Buenafe thanked the fishermen and Cericos for their “courage in responding to the Philippine National Police’s campaign against illegal drugs.”
He encouraged the public to continue supporting the Philippine National Police (PNP) in its anti-drug campaign.
Calipay said the recovered cocaine bricks were submitted to the PNP crime lab for further testing.

By OMER OSCAR ALMENARIO
PHILIPPINE President Rody Duterte is all set for an official visit to Vietnam on September 28 and 29, which aims to strengthen diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries.
In a pre-departure briefing in Malacañan on Monday, Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Charles Jose said President Duterte is scheduled to meet with Vietnamese President Trần Đại Quang and to pay a courtesy call on other top leaders of the Vietnamese government.
Jose said the leaders are expected to discuss various areas of bilateral exchanges including maritime cooperation, enhancement of law enforcement and defense cooperation, increasing two-way trade and investments, strengthening joint cultural activities as well heightened exchanges in agriculture and fisheries.
They are also expected to exchange views on regional and international issues, he added.

By OMER OSCAR ALMENARIO
PRESIDENTIAL spokesperson Ernesto Abella dismissed speculations that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte refused to meet United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, saying “There was nothing personal and it should not be given negative connotation”.
Abella’s statement came in reaction to accusations that President Duterte refused to meet Mr. Ban when he goes to Laos PDR (People’s Democratic Republic) during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit next week.
“It was a matter of scheduling,” Abella told reporters in a press conference Friday at the Royal Mandaya Hotel in Davao City. Abella emphasized on the tight schedule of the President, who could no longer find ample time for Mr. Ban.
He said the President was scheduled to meet with 11 heads of states and Mr. Ban’s request for appointment came late.
The President was accused of rejecting a meeting with the UN head after a UN rapporteur strongly criticized his anti-drug war. Mr. Duterte lambasted the UN official for lack of diplomatic protocol, indicating lack of respect to a leader of a sovereign state.

By OMER OSCAR ALMENARIO
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said Malacañang Palace is now in possession of a matrix that shows the alleged role of former Justice Secretary and now Senator Leila de Lima and a governor in the so-called “Muntinlupa Connection” being ran out of the New Bilibid Prison.
In an ambush interview at the Palace, the President said that De Lima was the highest ranking public official in the matrix that he intends to divulge to the public in a week’s time.
“I will show to you maybe this week the matrix, I am just validating it. Matrix ng (of) Muntinlupa connection nandun si De Lima (De Lima is there) actually. The matrix shows her role there,” Duterte said.
Duterte said that aside from the governor, another former ranking official of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is also in the matrix.

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The Proliferation of Drugs Syndicates at the National Bilibid Prison with Ronnie Palisoc Dayan Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs (November 23, 2016)(November 23, 2016)Sept. 19, 2016House Committee Hearing